Sealing using surfactants is important in rapidly maintaining the integrity of biological membranes. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) has shown to be effective in sealing axonal membranes of both transected and damaged neurons. This work in collaboration with Drs. Richard Borgens and Riyi Shi has proven to be a clinically relevant application for ameliorating the injury site and sparing nervous tissue, restoring physiological function, and improving neurologic behavior in acute traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries.
Three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction is a valuable tool for imaging and measuring enatomical structures.
3D reconstruction of serial histological sections comprehensively visualizes small tissues at high resolution to explore the amount and character of central nervous lesions, spared tissue, and other structures in acute and chronic injuries.
The use of selective cell and tissue markers makes 3D reconstruction more discriminative than most current clinical imaging techniques.
3D reconstruction can be used for visualization and also quantitatively interrogate features of interest.
Such quantitative capabilities have proven to be very accurate at measuring volume compared to standard techniques of 3D quantitation, including stereology, planimetry, and geometric best-fitting. This work has been done in collaboration with Dr. Chandrajit Bajaj of the University of Texas at Austin.
We are also interested in looking into other innovative methods of performing 3D reconstruction and novel applications for this technology. By double labeling alternate sets of histological sections of a tissue we increased the number of visualized structures in a single 3D reconstruction. Fluorescent markers can be used to visualize cellular breakdown after traumatic brain injuries. To visualize the amount and location of damaged cerebral neurons in whole rat brains, 3D reconstruction is a useful tool.[Link]
Assistive technology (AT) allows persons with disabilities to perform daily living, educational,
and occupational activities by themselves. AT allows people with disabilities
to be more self-sufficient and productive.
We are interested in
developing AT tools for students and scientists with disabilities to be as efficient and independent as possible in
educational institutions.
Students with disabilities are often hindered from participating in hands-on laboratory experimentation.
Our project, called AccessScope, permits students and scientists with motor
and visual impairments to independently control all functions of a research light microscope through a computer
interface. Independent operation of a light microscope grants students with disabilities an active learning experience
that affords them a better understanding of microscopy and the freedom to investigate cell biology on their own.
The overall goal of this project is to promote the inclusion of persons with disabilities to pursue studies in the sciences by
allowing them to physically performing common laboratory techniques.
[Link]
